Feature

The Best Free Software: Video and Audio Editing

At best, freeware video and audio editors fill niches next to the big boys.

You could buy…

Adobe Premiere Elements ($99.99)

Traditionally, video and audio editing have been complex processes best suited to well-crafted commercial software such as Adobe Premiere Elements (or its professional-grade big brother, Premiere). For the most part, that’s still true if you’re producing medium-size or larger video projects that require a degree of polish—that is, anything with more than rudimentary effects or edits.

Still, freeware can suffice for shorter projects or more elemental jobs. In our editors, we like to see timeline-based editing, a deep undo function, support for at least basic transitions between clips (such as fades and dissolves), decent titling features, and nondestructive, nonlinear editing. Freeware video editors represent a compromise on many of these fronts (indeed, none of our picks qualifies as truly nonlinear). But they can suffice for hobbyist or amateur work, such as creating short videos for uploading online or sharing via e-mail. And for audio editing, our favorite freeware alternative is a powerful editor that plays in the big leagues.

...or try one of these...

Audacity

WHAT WE LIKE:

High-grade waveform editing

Wide filter/effect selection

Option for VST plug-in support

Easy to use

Essential to any media creator’s toolbox is a feature-packed, intuitive audio editor, and Audacity is an A-grade fit. This open-source application is a good substitute for older editions of Adobe Audition (formerly Cool Edit Pro), allowing for precise, robust waveform-based audio capture and editing.

We’ve long been mightily impressed with the quality of Audacity’s stock audio filters for equalization, reverb, sample-based noise reduction, click removal, and plenty more. And now, a separate patch gives Audacity access to the vast outside world of VST plug-ins. The program is indispensable for tasks such as cleaning up aged or deteriorated recordings, and recording analog audio from LPs or cassettes for digital renewal. (Note: MP3-file creation requires the installation of an encoder, such as the free LAME.) We’d gladly pay money for this freeware gem.

Jahshaka

WHAT WE LIKE:

Robust feature set for experienced users

Extensive file-format compatibility

Jahshaka is the closest freeware we’ve seen to commercial consumer-level editors like Premiere Elements and Corel VideoStudio. In some ways it exceeds them in capability; Jahshaka has animation, paint, and effects modules that bring to mind Adobe’s After Effects. Jahshaka is powerful, but it can also be frustrating: The documentation is minimal, and the interface isn’t overly intuitive. (The best help we found was some YouTube tutorial videos assembled by the Jahshaka faithful.) Veterans of video editing should be semicomfortable after a few hours of experimentation, but beginners are better off elsewhere. As an early-in-the-game, open-source app with a good following, however, it bears watching.

JumpCut and JayCut

WHAT WE LIKE (JumpCut):

Wide file-type support

Fun titling and transitions

WHAT WE LIKE (JayCut)

Local-download support

Basic timeline-based editing

Lots of scene transitions

Two separate but similar Web apps, JumpCut and JayCut let you edit video without downloading any software.
Yahoo’s JumpCut is more of a video-mashup tool than a heavy-duty editing app. It lets you upload a wide variety of file types (including Realmedia, AVI, MP4, and Quicktime). The upload-file size is limited to just 100MB—a mere morsel in video-editing terms—but you can do a lot with your snippets. You can upload multiple clips, slice and rearrange them on a timeline, and create flashy transitions. You can also apply a reasonable variety of decent-looking titles and place cards, as well as superimpose new background music or apply video effects—as basic as brightness enhancement or as out-there as decorative spinning propellers. And the interface is as friendly as video editing gets. (Considering how user-hostile video-editing apps can be to beginners, this simplicity is a feat in itself.) The key shortcoming of JumpCut—and it’s major—is that the service doesn’t let you download your created videos back to your PC. You can only host them on Yahoo’s JumpCut service. You can find freeware that can grab video from online-video services like JumpCut and YouTube, but the process is a hassle.

JayCut shares some of the shortcomings of Yahoo’s JumpCut, but it lets you download your edited videos back to WMV files. JayCut, like JumpCut, is best for short mashups, not for jazzing up your 90-minute Caribbean-vacation video. The interface isn’t quite as polished as JumpCut’s, but you get a better mix of transitions and a more Premiere-like multitrack timeline in which to work. JumpCut’s titling features are far stronger, however.

VirtualDub

WHAT WE LIKE

Fast edits to AVI files

Nondestructive editing

VirtualDub won’t satisfy video aficionados, but it’s worth a spot in your toolbox for quick-and-dirty video-editing tasks. The Windows Movie Maker utility in XP or Vista is a much friendlier alternative, but Virtual- Dub is faster for making simple cuts and trims. Changes aren’t made to your source file; instead, they’re reflected when your video is saved to a second file, and editing is strictly a linear, single-track affair.

VirtualDub works primarily with AVI files—don’t look for wide-ranging compatibility—but its smart keyframe editing makes quick work of editing out segments of AVI video. On the downside, transitions aren’t supported, which means you’ll need another app for any kind of sprucing up. And while the documentation is surprisingly clear and well-written, there’s a definite learning curve.

VirtualDub supports some basic filters (a coarse one for video noise, plus filters for brightness/contrast and color anomalies). If you’re intrepid, it also supports an API that enables the use of community-created custom filters. Easily accessible via Google search, they can bring wide-ranging capabilities, such as video de-ghosting or age restoration. And VirtualDub is an excellent utility for initial video capture from a TV tuner or capture card; it’s lean and uncomplicated for that purpose.